Andy Pratt [Import]

Andy Pratt | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 20, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Sony / Bmg Japan
• ASIN: B000062VFW
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #182,460 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ambitious, Eclectic, Expressive, Sincere, May 29, 2002

By 

Bruce Merrill (Cambridge, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Andy Pratt (Audio CD)

FINALLY!! It's back again: The second Andy Pratt album.
Best known (to the extent that it is known...) as the source for "Avenging Annie," his brilliant, propulsive re-working of the Woody Guthrie song, "Pretty Boy Floyd"-- but it's much more than that! As a artifact of its time (1973) the disc is highly eclectic, each cut comes as a enjoyable surprise. And it's highly arranged, involving hours & hours of over-dubbing, with Andy playing many of the instruments, and providing all the myriad voices (except for one spoken bit). With a good spread of competent musicians assisting, the most important and reliable being Richard Shlosser's superb drumming.

But what makes this disc so extraordinary is the sheer intensity of Andy's compositions and singing. The album comes out of a period of confusion, distress, and tremendous romantic yearning, and he puts all of this into his songs, and his voice. His moodiness is realized in the striking eclecticism of his songs, which express his various disruptive feelings. As odd as they might strike you at first listening, they are all sincere. Andy sings from the heart! In order to express all that's inside him, he uses the full resources of his voice, altering his voice to capture the various feelings (often extreme) that he wishes to communicate-- as with the amazing cacophony of voices in "Inside me Wants Out," the romantic intensity of "Summer, Summer."

Andy Pratt's second album is a work of true inspiration because it combines a tremendous intensity of expression with musical ambition, his wish to compose unusual, diverse and complex songs. (As opposed to the more familiar separation of sincerity and ambition, found in some sincerely miserable person screaming on top of the same three chords, or some terribly ambitious tune which might be competent and unusual, but happens not to express anything more than a wish to overwhelm the audience with technique.) Here Andy's commitment to sincere expression keeps his unusual songs musical, lyrical, & melodic, with a more personal content than his equally ambitious first album, "Records Are Like Life." His subsequent output (Resolution, Shiver in the Night) remains sincere, intense, melodic and enjoyable, as he finds happiness in requited love and Christianity, but with his achieved happiness (which he captures wonderfully) the songs become less distressed, eclectic and ambitious, and so, for these secular ears, not so unique and impressive. The album at hand was obviously composed during a time of stress and craziness, and in this case, genius comes with pain.

The disc includes an essay on the songs and Andy's career in Japanese (which I can't read, unfortunately), and the complete lyrics, in both Japanese and English. Of my all-time top-five favorite rock albums, it was the only one that hadn't yet come out on CD, so it's great that Japan has risen to the occasion.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable pop rock from a guy who should have made it big, January 11, 2007

By 

Elliot Knapp (Seattle, Washington United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Andy Pratt (Audio CD)

Andy Pratt's self-titled second album is one of those lost treasures--he's got a great pop sensibility, vocal talents that range far, and instrumental prowess that makes for a really diverse stylistic and instrumental outing.

The first track is Andy's most well-known song, "Avenging Annie." It's propulsive piano rock with a really rocking chorus. Pratt's voice ranges from soulful to Bee-Gee-like falsetto (doesn't really bother me as much as some critics have claimed). Overall it's a great, solid start to an album that actually lives up to the example the single sets. "Inside Me Wants Out" is the first of many incredibly introspective, emotionally up-front songs on the album. Pratt sings in many different voices (he's really a vocal chameleon) and the backing music is funky and slick. "It's All Behind You" is a funny and optimistic look at life's mistakes.

The rest of the album ranges from R&B rock to tender piano balladry ("Give It All To Music," "So Fine (It's Frightening)") a little bit like Elton John. There's also some pretty radical experimentation--"Who Am I Talking To" is groovy and hard to categorize, and the album's closer, "Deer Song," is dark and moody with exotic mandolins and a strange lyric.

Overall, Andy Pratt is an adventuresome, catchy, and eccentric album, but its eccentricities only make it better. One of the main problems with pop is that it sounds great at first, then it gets boring really quick. Andy Pratt has enough heart, charm, and unusual wrinkles to sound like an old friend on first listen but also to remain interesting for many repeated listens. Check out itsaboutmusic dot com for Andy's catalog--it's probably less expensive, and has his hard-to-find and REALLY expensive masterpiece Resolution for the price of a regular CD. Enjoy!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Andy Pratt's Classic Second Album, September 11, 2006

By 

Eddie J. (Phila, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Andy Pratt (Audio CD)

Bruce Merrill reviewed this work of art so eloquently that there is little more to say. I listened to this album on a daily basis my sophomore year of college. I think I was going through similar life experiences as Andy because the album struck a chord with me on a very personal level. It is passionate music that never disappoints. I am so glad that it is once again available. Essential and well worth the import price.